Mumbai, June 15: In a bid to streamline public transport in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the state’s Urban Development Department issued a government resolution on Monday. This directive establishes a technical group and a study group tasked with creating a comprehensive roadmap for an integrated bus transport system across various municipal transport enterprises.
This initiative falls under the broader pilot project concept by the NITI Aayog, aimed at transforming select urban areas into ‘Growth Hubs’ (G-Hubs) to accelerate economic strategy and implementation. To advance this vision, a G-Hub Regulatory Board, chaired by the Chief Minister, and a coordination committee, led by the Chief Secretary, have already been established.
Following the directives of the G-Hub Regulatory Board, a task force was formed on June 10, 2025, to draft the initial integrated plan, leading to the formal establishment of these dedicated study and technical bodies today.
The technical group will be chaired by the Assistant General Manager (Traffic and Operations) of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). This newly formed technical group includes transport managers from various municipalities, such as Navi Mumbai, Thane, Mira Bhayander, Kalyan Dombivli, Vasai Virar, and Panvel.
Key areas of focus for this group include the rationalization of bus routes across municipal boundaries, harmonizing service schedules for seamless connectivity, integrating technology among all public transport operators (PTOs), and developing a collaborative roadmap for shared infrastructure. Additionally, they will recommend fare rationalization formulas and revenue-sharing models for inter-regional and multi-operator routes.
The technical group is expected to present its detailed findings and recommendations to the study group by July 15, 2026. A study group has also been formed to examine uniform fare structures and revenue allocation. This comprehensive study group will be led by the General Manager of BEST, with the municipal commissioners of Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayander, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Ulhasnagar, and Panvel as key members. The primary objectives of the study group focus on policy implementation, passenger convenience, and financial modeling.
–
Leave a Comment